What’s better than enjoying a delectable fruit cake with your family during the holiday?
The right answer is nothing! But what if the cake comes out dry?
Luckily, you don’t have to throw away your cake if it becomes dry. There are a few solutions that can help you revive it.
In this post, I’ll guide you on what to do with dry fruit cake by providing the best solutions to turn it into a tender dessert.
I’ll also break down the possible causes of dry fruit cakes to avoid them in the future.
What Causes Fruit Cake to Be Dry?
Before diving into the fixes, let’s first look at the possible causes of a dry fruit cake. Being aware of these causes will help you avoid them in the future.
Here are the most common causes:
Overbaking the Cake
You probably know this, but overbaking is the most common reason for turning your fruit cake dry.
To avoid this issue, you need to precisely follow the proper temperature and cooking time mentioned in your recipe.
I know it’s not always easy to follow recipes to a tee, but this is the key to avoiding ending up with a dry cake.
Using Unbalanced Ingredient Quantities
You may be tempted to increase or decrease the quantities of a recipe’s ingredients sometimes to get more or less yield. I do this a lot!
In this case, you need to keep the ratio between the ingredients balanced. Changing the ratio can affect the cake’s texture and yield a dry output.
You need to keep the exact specified ingredient ratio to get the perfect cake. You can use an online recipe converter to help you with this.
Adding Too Many Fruits
I know that its name is “fruit cake,” but this doesn’t mean you should overload it with fruit pieces.
If you do this, the excessive fruit content will prevent the cake batter from holding together. As a result, you’ll end up with a dry and crumbly cake.
Using only the specified amount of fruit the recipe calls for will prevent this unpleasant scenario.
Not Mixing the Ingredients Well
Although this might sound intuitive, not mixing the ingredients in the correct order can result in an undesirable texture for the cake.
The same applies when overmixing the ingredients or not blending them well. If you leave the flour crumbly without blending it with other ingredients, it may end up causing a dry texture.
Overlooking the Fruit Moisture
Most people use dried fruit when making fruit cakes. What you don’t know is, using dried fruits without soaking them may cause the texture to end up dry.
To avoid this occurrence, soak your dried fruit in water for one to two hours before incorporating them into your cake’s ingredients.
How to Moisten a Dry Fruit Cake After Baking
There are multiple ways to regain the moisture of a dry fruit cake, but not all of them are created equal.
Here are the two most effective methods you can use to revive your dry cake:
Cover It with a Towel: For Recently Baked Cakes
When you notice the dryness of your cake, throwing it out of the window might be the first idea that comes to your mind.
Hold on! The solution to moisten a dry fruit cake can be as simple as covering it with a towel!
This is the ideal fix if your fruit cake has turned dry right after removing it from the oven.
To apply this solution, take a clean towel and cover the top of the cake with it while keeping it in the pan.
You need to do this as soon as you remove the pan from the oven; the sooner, the better. After covering it, place the cake on a wire rack and let it cool down for some time.
The towel will retain the steam that comes off the cake. As the towel brings the steam back to the cake, it’ll start to gain moisture.
After a few minutes, you’ll notice that the cake has become considerably more tender compared to its initial condition.
Applying this tip can also soften the cake a bit, making it more pleasant to eat.
Brush It with Water or Milk: For Cakes Baked a Long Time Ago
Brushing the top of the dry fruit cake with a small amount of water or milk is another simple way to moisten it.
Although both milk and water yield satisfying results, I recommend using milk. This is because milk can add a little extra moisture than water.
After applying the liquid, re-bake the cake at 350 °F for around 15–20 minutes. Afterward, place the cake on a wire rack and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
Congratulations, you now have a moist fruit cake!
Final Thoughts
It’s okay to have a dry cake every once in a while; it happens to all of us! When this happens, reviving your dry cake isn’t a big deal. You can do this by following one of the above mentioned ways.
Alternatively, you may recycle the dry cake into another dessert and enjoy the mix.
The tips above will make sure you never end up with a dry cake again! Remember not to overbake the cake, and to closely monitor the ingredients to avoid over-adding something. Cakes are sensitive, and any tip in the scale can mess with the texture!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.